Changes

Your advice on what to do when one forgets someone’s name is helpful, for I can have terrible nominal aphasia at times, while your self-deprecating humor humour led to delightful moments of 'rather you than me' – yes, I’m thinking of the ptarmigan heart -eating episode.

I found your writing very topical for 21st -century life – mobile phones, twitter and tattoos all have written and unwritten rules and you’ve made that clear. These are just as important as the age -old reminders to keep one’s elbows off the table, and to avoid sitting right next to someone on public transport if other, less personal space encroaching seats are available.

I have a keepsake box of hand written handwritten letters at home that I re-read from time to time. If only their writers had taken your advice to add a date to their missives, I would find it much easier to place them chronologically. I also enjoyed your comments on protecting the fragile while out on the street, by providing a barrier between them and passing cars. I’ve come across this before, but only in South America where men routinely do it for women, even if it means they end up weaving incessantly from your left to your right. You make it sound like I have this to look forward to when I am old and infirm. I do hope so.

I can’t think of any major oversights in this one, Sandi. There’s a fine line to draw between things that are so obvious they don’t need stating, and things that really do. At the other end of the spectrum, there are things you might never imagine needing to say, until they happen to you, that is. Should I ever feel the need to write a similar book, I might add a footnote that it is unacceptable to break out the nail polish remover at a communal work lunch table. And I might slip in an aside that you’re right (of course you are) about over -celebrating success at sport, but this might, by its very nature, not apply to competitive cheerleading. The way we scream and shout and jump up and down until the floor breaks, you’d think we’d won something far greater than a 3 -foot -high trophy with a peculiar, alien mascot’s head on it.

P.S. I wouldn't dream of suggesting anyone overlook your fine book, Sandi, but if readers can't enough, I think they might also like [[Talk to the Hand by Lynne Truss]]. As for where the letter gets typed up, have a look at [[Swimming in the Steno Pool: A Retro Guide to Making It in the Office by Lynn Peril]].